


Reaching out

by Laequiem



Category: A Court of Thorns and Roses Series - Sarah J. Maas
Genre: Friendship, Light Angst, M/M, Male Friendship, No Spoilers, honestly don't know how to tag this at all
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-26
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-17 23:13:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 943
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29724684
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Laequiem/pseuds/Laequiem
Summary: A great golden beast roams the Spring Court. Lucien decides to visit it—him.No spoilers :)
Relationships: Tamlin & Lucien Vanserra
Kudos: 15





	Reaching out

**Author's Note:**

> Listen. I don't know why I wrote this. I haven't even finished ACOSF yet.  
> I just needed some loyal-friend-Lucien in my life.

Over the years, Lucien had many homes. The Autumn Court had been  _ home _ by default—he never fit in and nobody wanted him to. Jesminda had been the closest thing to  _ home _ there, but… 

Let's just say she was gone.

When Tamlin took him in, he thought he had found his forever home. It finally had a purpose. Serving his best friend as High Lord had always seemed natural, the difference of power barely noticeable. Most days, Tamlin treated him as equal. Other days, Lucien trusted his friend to give the right orders for the people of the Spring Court to thrive.

Then Feyre happened. Elain. The war. 

He betrayed Tamlin by leaving for the Night Court, but he found a new  _ home _ . Not with Rhysand's court, of course, but with Jurian and Vassa. 

When he stayed at the house with the Band of Exile, he felt at home. But there was also a hole, a longing, when he stayed there too long. At first, he blamed it on the mating bond—being far from Elain made him  _ physically _ hurt, and the house was about as far away from her as he could get while still being in Prythian. 

But the longing was still there when he visited her, and it had nothing to do with her coldness towards him.

Then, one day, he stopped at the Spring Court when winnowing between Velaris and his house.

* * *

The palace was in ruins. The claw marks were already there the winter after the war, when he helped Tamlin by hunting for him. Until the High Lord kicked him out, making it clear he wanted nothing to do with him.

Thorny vines had grown in front of where the door used to be, sealing the place shut. A quick tour around the house confirmed that Tamlin had not been here in a while. Nobody was here. 

He knew Tamlin did not want to see him. He made that quite clear. But Lucien could not bear leaving his friend to suffer alone.

So he began tracking. 

* * *

Following Tamlin’s path of destruction had proven to be surprisingly easy. Once Lucien followed the muddy tracks to a forest, he only had to follow the fallen trees.

He winnowed his way through the forest, until the tracks stopped in front of a cave. 

“Tam?”

Nothing but the wind answered. Lucien conjured a flame to light his path as he entered the cave. He walked far enough down the cave that he could not see the light from the entrance anymore.

“Tamlin?”

This time, he got an answer in the form of a huff. He barely had time to turn towards the sound that the beast was on him. The Beast Tamlin had become snarled in his face, then reared on its hind legs and pushed him. 

Lucien fell backwards on his ass, and the beast huffed again, prowling towards him.

“I get it,” Lucien said as he got up, “Not welcome.”

* * *

Lucien kept at it. Every time he had to winnow to Velaris, he stopped temporarily at the Spring Court to check on Tamlin. It got worse over the weeks. The beast lost weight, his fur dulling to the dull gold of old jewelry. Tamlin never talked to him and Lucien made no efforts to talk, either. What even was the point of these visits? To show Tamlin he cared? To convince himself he was not a traitor? He had no answer.

Still, he came. The first couple times, Tamlin was hostile. Then he just ignored his old friend. A few weeks in, and he started tolerating the Autumn heir being near as he slept.

Progress.

* * *

The weight of the deer carcass pressed heavily on Lucien's shoulders, yet he carried on. Ignored the blood dripping from the animal in his hair. He had thought of preparing it where it died, but he did not want to risk the sort of predators that could be attracted by the leftover bones and sinew. The Spring Court's defenses were so lackluster that monsters from the Middle had started making their way in.

He dropped the carcass a few meters into the cave and sat down to catch his breath. Soon enough, he heard the telltale sound of claws on rock as Tamlin made his way towards him.

"Hey, Tam," Lucien said as he palmed a knife, "I brought dinner."

Lucien started skinning the deer, carving the good meat and setting it aside. Tamlin watched him work from a good distance, sitting on his haunches.

By the end of the hour, Lucien was drenched in sweat, but the job was done. He prepared a small fire, lighting it with his magic, then turned his head to his friend.

"Do you want yours cooked?"

A huff, and a quick shake of the head. Lucien picked the biggest piece from his pile and threw it over to Tamlin.

Lucien spent the rest of the evening in the cave, cooking his steaks and eating silently. Occasionally, Tamlin would scratch the ground, which he took to mean  _ more meat _ . Every time he looked over to throw him a piece, it seemed the beast had come closer.

Until eventually, he felt the brush of fur against his side.

He couldn't help the smile that crept on his face as the beast curled up next to him and closed his emerald eyes.

Lucien felt his throat tighten. Was this… forgiveness? He reached out a hand and touched the golden fur. Tamlin did not flinch away. Lucien leaned back and rested his head against the beast's sleeping form.

They survived Amarantha.

They survived the war.

They can get through this.

Together.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm on tumblr @[laequiem](http://laequiem.tumblr.com) :)


End file.
